Land of Ice (Monsters, Part 3)

This mountain cat is yet another of the super predators inhabiting the LAND OF ICE. Nearly man height at the shoulder and covered with a shaggy pelt, the long fang is incredibly stealthy (surprising foes on a 4 in 6). It takes its name from its huge, downward canines. The long fang’s normal mode of attack is to bear its foe to the ground with its great weight after which it sinks its teeth into its prey, puncturing organs and severing arteries (the long fang must hit with both claws in order to deliver its bite attack).

The magician is a trained psychic, skilled in the use of seidhr (see Chapter 3). Create the magician as a normal character of level 1st through 4th (roll 1D4). The XP award for a magician should be increased by one “*” for every level above 1st.

Mules are a hybrid species bred from horses and small herd animal. The resulting animal is smaller and stouter than both with only vestigial antlers and a nasty temper, but a capable pack animal for the cold northern mountains.

The descendants of the starfaring race that first came to the LAND OF ICE centuries ago, as detailed in Chapter 1. They are a proud people if prone to melancholy and bouts of drunkenness, and made of sterner stuff than those men and women found in the warmer southern climates. Northmen will generally wear heavy furs for insulation from the snow (average AC of 8) when not otherwise girded for war. All are capable of fighting and are ready to prove it in defense of their honor. The stats listed are for the average northman; northmen of exceptional ability and ambition should be created as a normal character class.

The cold sea abounds with huge, amphibious serpents of varying size. The statistics given are for the average of the species, though smaller sizes (3 hit dice) are found within the fresh water (lakes and rivers) of the continent, and creatures of double the size are not unheard of in colder waters. Damage should be correspondingly adjusted for larger and smaller sea snakes.

Legends state these genetically engineered monstrosities were created using jotun technology in an attempt to create a domestic guardian, but if such is the case the experiment went terribly wrong: the monsters are some of the worst and most feared creatures the northmen are likely to encounter. Sleipnr are huge arachnids, most about the size of a horse, with terrible mandibles and a venomous bite (save versus poison or die within 10 rounds). They are exceedingly cunning and adept at ambushing their victims (surprise on a 3 in 6 chance), clinging to the walls and ceilings of dark caves and canyon walls before launching themselves at a likely victim. They do not spin webs but create nests using debris and the bones and possessions of former victims.

Another of the semi-sentient humanoid inhabitants of the LAND OF ICE snobolds, like trolls, live in clannish family units and are capable of (primitive) tool use. The smallest of the indigenous humanoids, snobolds are only about half the height of a northman; however, they are quite vicious, dangerous in numbers, and possess cannibalistic tendencies. There is little honor in killing them, but they are cowards in the face of superior opposition.

The only rodent of note in the LAND OF ICE, these creatures are as long as a man’s arm and capable of delivering a vicious bite. They are also known to carry a particularly virulent strain of rabies; at the end of any encounter with snow rats, any character bitten must make a save versus poison or contract the disease. Over the next D8 hours, an infected individual will transform into something equivalent to a ghoul, though without the psychic contagion/attraction. Snow rats are generally found in the mountains, though a similar species is known to exist in the forests of the southern coast.